Selangor, April 27th, 2010 – Carlsberg Malaysia (the Group) held its 40th Annual General Meeting where the Chairman, Dato Lim Say Chong informed the shareholders that the Management Team have effectively implemented the strategic plan announced in 2009. This had enabled the Group to weather the challenges of high raw material prices as well as an adverse operating environment to deliver satisfactory results for the financial year ended 31st December 2009.

1. Revenue grew by 9% to RM 1,045 million, the first time in the Group’s history where the revenue surpassed the RM1.0 billion level.

2. Carlsberg beer, the No.1 beer brand in Malaysia, maintained its leading position and achieved brand share growth for the first time in several years, despite a decline in total beer and stout industry in 2009.

3. Achieved sales growth in premium beer segment by 50% via the successful integration and performance of its subsidiary Luen Heng F&B Sdn Bhd.

4. Successful acquisition of Carlsberg Singapore Pte Ltd which is expected to increase the Group’s market coverage and increase the Group’s net profit significantly.

At the press conference held in conjunction with the shareholders’ meeting, the Chairman shared that the successful implementation of the Group’s Strategic Priorities had contributed to the increase in shareholder value, improvement in operation efficiency as well as boosted positive employee morale and productivity. The Group had also successfully expanded its business to a new and more exciting horizon that enabled the Brewer to brew even greater success and achieve sustainable growth.

The notable achievements recorded from the 2009 performance were: RM

• 3 million improvement in the non-procured production costs, a 4% reduction of Operational Expenditure as well as achieved improvement in marketing expenditure efficiencies by recording an increase in market share and share of voice of the Group’s crown jewel Carlsberg beer, despite a lesser spent in marketing campaigns. These “Quick Win” initiatives had resulted in the Group achieving a better cost efficiency.
• RM 104 million in free cash flow, a positive growth of almost 20% in 2009, after excluding the payment for the Carlsberg Singapore acquisition and a rights issue payment for Lion Brewery (Ceylon) PLC. While the Group capitalized its strong liquidity position to acquire Carlsberg Singapore, this would reduce the cash flow and cash balance in the short term. The Group is confident that the the Singapore business operations will improve the Group’s earnings significantly upon integration in 2010. The acquisition was recognized as the ‘Best M&A Deal of Year 2009’ by The Edge and ‘Best Mid-cap Corporate of Year 2009’ by Asiamoney, a regional business magazine. The Group has via this strategic move achieved a significant cash optimization.
• The Group’s employee engagement was recorded at 78%, a high level at the Employee Attitude Survey (EAS) 2009. The positive results of EAS is evidence of the successful implementation and communication of the Group’s Winning Behaviours that advocate five company and employee agendas of ‘Together we are Stronger’, ‘Our Customers and Consumers are at the heart of every decision we make’, ‘We want to Win’, ‘We are each empowered to make a difference’ and ‘We are engaged with Society’.
• The Carlsberg brand was strengthened through impactful marketing campaigns and effective route to in-market sales execution. Carlsberg was again voted as the ‘Most Trusted Beer Brand in Malaysia’ for the 10th year running in the Reader’s Digest Asia Trusted Brand survey in 2009. Hoeegaarden, one of the beer brands marketed by the Group’s subsidiary Luen Heng F&B Sdn Bhd has within a short period became the fastest growing imported beer in Malaysia and recorded a three-fold growth in draught beer volume last year. These Sales and Marketing success stories are testament to the effective execution of the Group’s Commercial MustWin-Battles.

Outlook 2010

Building on its profitable investments and more robust brand portfolio, the Group is confident to continue to drive growth in 2010 by implementing four key Strategic Priorities as follows: 

1. Execution of Commercial Must-Win-Battles

2. Integration of the Singapore operations

3. Value Management

4. Cash Optimization

Today, Carlsberg Malaysia is a much larger player with a more robust brand portfolio. The Management is confident that by implementing the four key strategic priorities, the Group shall continue to achieve compelling performance and deliver value to its shareholders.